By IANS
New Delhi : Its relations with the ruling Congress party souring, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Friday said it wants to build a Third Force to fight against the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but insisted it should be based on ‘policies’.
According to CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury, the central committee of the party, which is meeting currently in the national capital, held discussions on the possibility of a third alternative to fight against “imperialism and communalism”.
“We have always pitched for a third alternative, but this will not be a mere electoral or seat-sharing arrangement just before the polls. We want to provide a durable third option to the people,” Yechury told reporters Friday, the second day of the central committee meeting.
But the CPI-M leader reiterated that the new force should not be a “cut and paste job” – the jargon he used to describe the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), the current third grouping.
According to party sources, many leaders in the 85-member central committee who participated in the discussions felt that the party’s decision to support the Congress-led government to keep the ‘communal’ BJP out of power should be reviewed.
“The leaders were of the view that the CPI-M should take active initiative to form an alternate force to fight communalism and imperialism as both are equally dangerous,” a central committee leader said.
Yehcury also said the central committee members were “reviewing the organisation work” and the performance of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, to which the CPI-M-led Left parties extend an outside support.
He reiterated his party’s opposition to the India-US civil nuclear agreement.